Aldea Spiritual Community

ETHOS (Part 1) | Jake Haber

This week, we kick off a brand-new series: ETHOS: Sacred Values for a Struggling World.
 
As the world grows more complicated and divided, what holds us steady? What truly matters when beliefs falter, structures crumble, and old certainties fade?
 
We explore the vital difference between beliefs and values, why values matter more than ever, and how the future depends not just on what we claim to stand for—but how we embody it every day.
 
From personal reflection to collective responsibility, we invite you into a conversation about the kind of lives, communities, and world we are building together.
 
Get ready for encouragement, inspiration, challenge—and maybe even a few uncomfortable but transformative questions. It’s not always easy work, but it’s the real work of becoming who we are meant to be.
 
Jump in with us.
 
Quotes:
 
Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”
Epictetus:
“Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.”
Maya Angelou:
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”
Peter Rollins:
“We often adopt beliefs, not because they are true, but because they protect us from anxiety, doubt, and unknowing.”
Pope Francis:
“It is not enough to have values, we must live them. Only in this way will we build a future that is truly human… Values are not abstract; they are lived in the concrete, in the choices we make every day.”
Marc Gafni:
“Anti-value arises when trauma, shame, or shadow obscure the unique radiance of being. What we call evil is not the opposite of good, but the distortion of value.”
Pope Francis:
“A society that loses its values begins to lose its soul. We must guard the values that promote dignity, justice, and peace.”
 
 

The Caterpillar & The Butterfly (Part 3): Easter | Jake Haber

This year's Easter message marks the conclusion of our Caterpillar and Butterfly series—a journey exploring transformation, challenge, and awakening. From the uncertainty of the cocoon to the emergence of something new, we reflect on how personal winters and spiritual upheaval often pave the way for deeper purpose, connection, and vitality. This message reimagines resurrection as not an escape, but a profound return to life itself—with all its grief, beauty, mystery, and power. Join us as we name the healing, power, and responsibility that arise when we awaken to who we truly are.
 
Quotes: 
John 20:21-23: Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side. The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were awestruck. Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.” Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Ram Dass: “The guru is not the person. The guru is the presence that awakens the truth within you.”
Michael Meade: “In times of great uncertainty, the soul awakens. The world might be falling apart, but the soul sees through the cracks.”
Teilhard de Chardin: “To rise from the dead is to align with the evolutionary impulse of the universe. Resurrection is not an escape from matter but the transfiguration of it.”
 

The Caterpillar & The Butterfly (Part 2): The Cocoon | Jake Haber

This week’s message explores the mysterious, disorienting, and deeply fertile space between what was and what’s to come. Using the cocoon as a metaphor for those liminal stages of life—where the old dissolves and the new has yet to emerge—we reflect on what it means to hold space for grief, confusion, and loss as essential parts of transformation.
 
Just like in nature, transformation doesn’t happen all at once. It requires dissolution, discomfort, and the courage to remain present. Through pop culture parallels, personal reflection, and spiritual insight, we explore how letting go of the old—beliefs, identities, institutions—opens the door to a deeper, more authentic emergence.
 
We also honor the importance of sitting in that space fully, without rushing to resolution. This is the cocoon—the tomb and the womb, the dark soil where seeds break open and the true self begins to form. Resurrection isn’t just a day on a calendar; it’s a process we live into, one that starts by trusting the darkness.
 
As we prepare for Easter, we invite you to embrace the in-between, honor what’s dying, and trust that life is reshaping you in ways unseen.
 
Quotes:
 
Chameli Ardagh:
“The spiritual journey is not about getting out of the cocoon quickly. It’s about allowing yourself to dissolve inside it.”
Richard Rohr:
“The predictable pattern of spiritual transformation is a movement from order to disorder to reorder. This is the universal pattern of change and growth.”
“If we try to skip the disorder stage, we stay stuck in a superficial order that cannot hold the weight of real life.”
Alan Watts:
“Jesus willingly walked into his fate. He didn’t resist death, and in doing so, he transcended it. That is the core of the spiritual path—not to avoid suffering, but to transform it by going through it consciously.”
Francis Weller:
“We must have the courage to walk directly into the heart of our sorrow. Not around it, not above it, but through it….To truly sit with our sorrow is to honor it. Not to rush it. Not to medicate it. But to listen deeply to its wisdom.”
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross:
“The five stages—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance—are tools to help us frame and identify what we may be feeling. They are not stops on some linear timeline in grief… They were never meant to help tuck messy emotions into neat packages. They are responses to loss that many people have, but there is not a typical response to loss as there is no typical loss.”
“Acceptance is not about liking a situation. It is about acknowledging all that has been lost and finding a way to live with it.”
 

The Caterpillar & The Butterfly (Part 1) | Jake Haber

Join us for the first part of a powerful 3-week series leading up to Easter, where we explore the deeper meaning of resurrection—not as a destination or dogma, but as a universal pattern found in nature, in our lives, and in our spiritual evolution.
Through stories big and small, we’ll trace the arc of transformation: death, grief, and the often-unrecognizable rebirth that follows. Using the image of the caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, we’ll explore the hidden potential that emerges when we allow the familiar to fall away.
 
This series is an invitation to examine what’s dying in our individual and collective lives, and what might be trying to be born. We’ll reflect on the moments that force us into cocoons—loss, identity shifts, and life transitions—and what it takes to come out the other side with wings.
 
It’s a spiritual take on transformation for anyone who’s ever asked: Is there more than this? Could something better be waiting on the other side of this pain? What if the breakdown is actually the beginning of becoming?
 
In this message, we touch on psychology, mysticism, nature, and personal growth—honoring voices from Christianity, Buddhism, mystics, and even pop culture. If you’re in the in-between, the not-yet, or the breaking open, this message is for you.
 
Quotes: 
 
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.” — Richard Bach
“If you wish to escape from prison, the first thing you must realize is that you are in prison. If you think you’re free, no escape is possible.” — G.I. Gurdjieff
“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
“The caterpillar dies and the butterfly is born. Death and resurrection are two aspects of the same process. To die is to be reborn, to die to the old is to be born to the new.” — Osho
“Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.” — Mary Oliver
 
 

The Earth Body | Jake Haber

Check out Sunday's message on our connection to the planet!
As spring emerges and the Earth wakes from dormancy, we’re invited to awaken, too—not just to warmth and light, but to a reconnection with something we’ve long forgotten: our bodies and the Earth itself.
 
In a world dominated by screens, data, and disembodied living, many of us have lost touch with the very ground we stand on. This message explores how our physical bodies are miracles of connection and intelligence, how the Earth mirrors that same wisdom, and how remembering our place within the web of life can be both humbling and liberating.
 
We look at the cost of disconnection—from spiritual illness to ecological collapse—and what it means to come back to a sense of belonging. You’ll hear reflections on indigenous wisdom, body intelligence, and the deep ecology of our being. Not just as individuals, but as vital cells in the Earth’s body.
 
Join us on a journey home—back into your body, back to the Earth, and forward into a more connected way of being.
Quotes:
Alan Watts:
“We do not ‘come into’ this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree.”
Bruce Lipton:
“Your body is a community of 50 trillion living cells, all working together in harmony. This is the power of a single consciousness guiding them.”
Thomas Berry:
“Our challenge is to create a new language, even a new sense of what it is to be human, in the presence of an Earth community.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti:
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
Cree Proverb:
“Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught, and the last stream poisoned, will we realize we cannot eat money.”
Bill Plotkin:
• “Eco-awakening is the process of shifting your identity from that of an isolated human individual to that of an ecological being interwoven with the community of life…An eco-awakening means seeing yourself as a participant in the natural world rather than a detached observer or exploiter.”
• “When people no longer understand that they belong to the Earth, they become dangerous to the Earth.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer:
“Let us walk through life in the humble knowledge that we are not the masters of creation, but part of its great dance. May we know the quiet dignity of mosses and the fierce grace of the river. May we listen to the stories the land tells us, and may our lives become a prayer of gratitude to the living world around us.”

A Dance of Dark & Light (Spring Equinox) | Jake Haber

Tune in as we reflect on the Spring Equinox, exploring themes of balance, light, and dark, both in nature and within ourselves. We discuss how the equinox symbolizes the coexistence of opposites and encourage embracing both light and dark aspects of life. We also delve into the concept of balance in relationships, spirituality, and personal growth, reminding us that finding harmony often involves navigating tension and paradox. We hope that this talk allows you to recognize your own journey toward wholeness and inner balance.
 
Quotes:
 
“The equinox is the moment when the Earth’s tilt lines up with the Sun, giving us nearly equal day and night everywhere on the planet.” — Neil deGrasse Tyson
 
“Light and dark are not enemies; they are halves of the same whole, meeting in perfect union at the equinox.” — Thích Nhất Hạnh
 
“I’d rather be whole than good.” — Carl Jung
 
“The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.” — Alfred Adler
 
“Ring the bells that still can ring, forget your perfect offering, there is a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen
 
“Life is a balance between holding on and letting go.” — Rumi
 
“It is not a matter of choosing between the spiritual and the material but of learning how to live in both.” — Thomas Merton
 
“Spiritual growth is not about changing who you are, but about discovering who you have always been.” — Deepak Chopra
 
“Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, ‘You owe me.’ Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the whole sky.” — Hafiz

The Importance of Small Things | Michelle Curcio

Small gestures of kindness—whether a smile, a kind word, or a simple act of generosity—carry more significance than we often realize. While major events and grand actions get attention, the quiet, everyday moments of care and compassion shape lives in lasting ways.
 
In Michelle's talk, she reminds us that many spiritual traditions emphasize the power of small acts, recognizing that their impact extends beyond what we can immediately see. However, people often hesitate to act due to distractions, self-doubt, or the belief that their efforts are insignificant. Psychological studies reveal that even minor acts of goodness create ripple effects, influencing others in ways we may never fully understand. By focusing on what we can do in our sphere of influence—helping where possible, doing things with care, and fostering relationships—we contribute to a larger movement of kindness. The world is changed not just through massive efforts, but through the accumulation of countless small actions done with love and intention.
 
Quotes:
 
Matthew 25:40:
 “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.”
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:
 “Do not belittle any good deed, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face.”
Desmond Tutu:
 “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
Mother Teresa:
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
Galatians 6:9:
“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Charles L. Allen:
 “When you say a situation or person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God.”
 Richard Rohr:
 “How you do anything is how you do everything.”
Dalai Lama:
 “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”

The Future of Faith | Doug Hammack & Jake Haber

Check out this interview with Doug Hammack, the founder of a progressive spiritual community in Raleigh, North Carolina called Common Thread Church. In this wide ranging conversation, Doug and Jake explore the possibilities of the future of faith, why our current religious institutions are failing, and how to create healing amidst the political divide.

Question & Response | Devin Wright & Jake Haber

On Sunday, we hosted special guest Pastor Devin Wright of Missiongathering Bellevue, and he and Jake tackled your big questions about faith, spirituality, and navigating the complexities of today’s world. From deconstructing religion to understanding Christian nationalism, from engaging activism to supporting loved ones on different spiritual paths—we dove deep into the topics that matter.
 
Listen now for an open, honest, and thought-provoking conversation!

Holy Shift! (Part 5): Circles of Care | Jake Haber

In this powerful conclusion to the Holy Shift! series, we explore paradigm-shifting ways of seeing ourselves and the world, culminating in a profound reflection on love and belonging. Over four weeks, we’ve examined the Stages of Faith, Religious Renewal, and Spiral Dynamics, tracing the expansion of our capacity for care—from self-care to planetary and universal care.
 
At its core, love—or care—is the through-line of our lives, shaping our sense of belonging and our connection to the world. We begin with the fundamental need for self-care and expand outward: relational love, tribal/community care, world care, planetary care, and universal care. Each stage builds on the last, mirroring humanity’s evolution of consciousness.
 
But love isn’t always easy. We confront the failures of love, the struggles of embracing those who challenge us, and the tension between instinctual survival and radical compassion. Ultimately, this is a blueprint for spiritual growth—an invitation to break beyond conditional care and step into the interconnection of all life.
 
As we navigate a time of global transition, may we recognize that discomfort is the threshold to transformation. This is our collective rite of passage, a moment of expansion amidst contraction. Love will always find its way—our task is to align ourselves with the flow of reality and embrace the holy shifts that call us forward.
 
Quotes: 
 
Carol Gilligan: “The progression in the development of the ethics of care is marked by a shift in the focus of responsibility: from caring for the self (preconventional), to caring for others at the expense of the self (conventional), and finally to a balanced responsibility that integrates care for both self and others (postconventional).”
• Richard Rohr: “The moment we make God a tribal deity, we have made an idol. The divine is not contained within borders, flags, or a single nation’s cause.”
• Martin Luther King Jr.: “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
• Metta Sutta: “As a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love toward all beings.”
• Albert Schweitzer: “Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.”
Groucho Marx: “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as a member.”
• Albert Einstein: “I love humanity, but I loathe people.”
Dan Millman: “Every positive change–every jump to a higher level of energy and awareness–involves a rite of passage. Each time to ascend to a higher rung on the ladder of personal evolution, we must go through a period of discomfort, of initiation. I have never found an exception.”
• Abraham Maslow: “At any moment, you have a choice: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.”
• Thich Nhat Hanh: “Because you are alive, everything is possible. The entire cosmos has come together to make your existence possible. You are not a separate entity; you are the universe itself.”
 
This series has been about expanding our circles of care, deepening our capacity for love, and embracing the evolutionary call toward greater consciousness. The journey of growth is never easy, but every holy shift is a step toward a world where love leads the way.